Flying insects, for example various social wasps, including paper wasps, hornets and yellow jackets, can be a significant nuisance, and a potential hazard, to people and animals engaged in outdoor activities. Such flying insects can be prevalent in rural settings, and even in very well developed residential areas.
Traps for flying insects are known in the art, and often have been quite successful at trapping target insects. For example, the inventor of the insect trap disclosed herein pioneered conical element hanging traps, including the wasp traps described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,941, which issued Nov. 12, 1985, to Schneidmiller. Schneidmiller discloses a transparent cylindrical insect trap that is selective to entrapping wasps. A “wasp” is a generic name applied to insects of the order Hymenoptera which includes particularly paper wasps, hornets and yellow jackets. The present inventor also discloses certain improvements to the insect trap in U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,880. Both of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference herein, in their entirety.
Previous patented trap structures include a transparent, generally cylindrical entrapment chamber and a base that attaches to substantially close the bottom of the entrapment chamber. In the prior art device the entrapment chamber includes openings at the top end of the chamber. The bottom element includes apertures that permit access by wasps into the entrapment chamber. An entry cone shaped as a truncated cone with a large opening at the base, and a small opening at the top, is disposed in the entrapment chamber. Wasps or other flying insects enter through the entry apertures, fly or climb into the cone, pass through its truncated end, and become entrapped in the cylindrical chamber. Once inside the chamber, exiting is highly improbable, such that the insect becomes trapped in the chamber. Portions of the trap may be colored and a volatile olfactory attractant may be provided in the bottom element to aid in attracting the wasps.
Although prior art insect traps have proven successful at entrapping wasps and the like, the present invention as disclosed below provides significant improvements that are intended to improve the effectiveness of the insect trap.